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California’s introduction last month of a cap-and-trade system to limit and reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants may mark a new phase in the American climate change debate. The decision by the California Air Resources Board to put a price on heat-trapping pollution and allow polluting industries to trade carbon credits adds to California’s already substantial number of climate changes related laws and regulations.

If the proposed Preserve Access to Affordable Generics Act will generate savings for the US of $4.8 billion over 10 years (which is much less impressive when calculated on an annual basis, and that is without calculating the costs to the US economy by the negative implications of this legislation), why not go the whole 9 yards and axe the 180 days of market exclusivity to the first generic drug? After all, such a step could generate far greater savings ...

Amazon is the latest in a long line of technology companies to see a marked increase in the number of patent and IPR lawsuits launched against it. Last week the BBC reported that the global retailer’s Kindle and online sales system is being accused of infringing other companies’Def IP.

Will Amazon, like Google, now start a patenting spree of its own to better protect itself from future claims?

International R&D collaboration is on the rise as China sets out to meet its smart grid goals.

French energy company Alstom signs a new R&D partnership with CET, a subsidiary of China’s State Grid Corporation and one of the largest electrical equipment companies in China. Under the terms of the agreement, CET and Alstom will cooperate on the development and manufacture of key technologies for future ultra high voltage electrical grids.

Is this a signal that China’s R&D efforts will become increasingly ...

Chinese officials have outlined plans to invest nearly $500 billion in electric power infrastructure — including roughly $90 billion in smart grid technologies — by 2020. According to a report by the Center for American Progress, Chinese leaders view smart grid technology as “the next industrial revolution”.

What does the regulatory landscape need to look like in China for this to be possible, and will it also open unsolicited opportunities for foreign competitors?

Oliver Brüstle, director of the Institute of Reconstructive Neurobiology at the University of Bonn, Germany, who had a patent on a method for generating neurons from human embryonic stem cells rejected by the court, called the ruling “the worst possible outcome”, and “a disaster for Europe”.

He and other scientists worry that the ruling will cause European companies and scientists to miss out on commercial applications for embryonic-stem-cell research.

Using IPRs effectively in neglected diseases R&D – What lessons can be learned from the positive results of the GSK and PATH’s Malaria Vaccine Initiative? Allowing partners which contribute proprietary technologies to maintain ownership and income from the end product may be key to achieving tangible results like those of the MVI. In this case, GSK, owner of many of the essential technologies of the vaccine, will supply the final product at a preferred price (cost+5%).This hybrid approach can support ...

The dispute between Microsoft and Google over the Android operating system appears to have entered a new phase. Microsoft is reported to have signed licensing deals with 10 manufacturers who now pay a user fee for every smartphone and/or table that is sold. Google disputes the validity of Microsoft’s claims and the patents that underpin it.

The broader question remains whether or not these disputes are solely based on legal and commercial grounds, or are they part of a deeper philosophical ...